Delhi HC suspends man's sentence in rape case noting girl eloped voluntarily

The Delhi High Court has suspended the sentence of a man who was convicted for raping a minor noting that the girl had voluntarily gone with him by misrepresenting herself to be a majorJustice Jasmeet Singh noted in an order on Friday that the girl was 17 years and four months old when she eloped with the man and thereafter they had a child who is in the care and custody of the prosecutrixThe high court which was hearing an appeal filed by the man challenging his conviction and 12 years imprisonment said to uphold the trial court judgment or to set it aside would require detailed hearing and appreciation of facts which shall be taken up when the appeal is finally heardHowever the sentence of the appellant is suspended during the pendency of the appeal on certain terms and conditions including that the man will not interfere in the life of the girl and the minor child until and unless she so desires and permitsThe girl in her statement recorded before a magistrate as well as in her evidence has stated that she ran away with the man out of her own free will and that she is in love with him and prayed that he be released on bailIn her crossexamination the girl further stated that she was the one who misrepresented her age to the man to state that she was a major at the time of running away with himThese are facts which persuade me to suspend the sentence of the appellant even though he has not undergone 50 per cent of the awarded sentence The evidence the section 164 CrPC statement and the cross examination of the prosecutrix seem to suggest that it was the prosecutrix who had gone with the appellant by misrepresenting her age and showing herself to be a major the judge saidAlso readMaha Five booked for misappropriating funds of coop housing societies in ThaneThe high court was dealing with the mans application seeking suspension of his sentence awarded to him in November 2020 by a trial court hereAs per the nominal roll of March 13 2023 the man has undergone 3 years 1 month 7 days imprisonment He has a remission of 6 months 27 days and an unexpired portion of 8 years 3 months 26 days the high court notedIt said the man be released from jail on furnishing a personal bond and surety bond of Rs 10000 each and he shall provide his mobile phone number to the investigating officer IO which shall be kept in working condition at all timesThe man shall furnish his permanent address to the IO and shall appear before the court as and when the appeal is taken up for hearing and shall not leave the country it saidThe appellant shall not be in the vicinity of the prosecutrix or any of her family members He shall try and contribute some amount towards the upbringing of the minor child He shall not indulge in any act or omission that is unlawful or that would prejudice the proceedings in pending cases if any the high courtThe court also directed the Delhi State Legal Service Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the girl immediately and not later than two weeks if not paid alreadyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever